(Solved) Epson Scanner not usable since update to Mint 19 - Pipe error

[felemur]

Hopefully someone who is more technically proficient than I am will try and help, but one thing I did note that sounds too simple: When I did this, it did not work until I did a restart. Give it a try, who knows.

[Crusader]

I had similar issues with my Epson GT-S85 scanner under Linux Mint 19. The link above solved the problem for me, too. I'm quoting the solution here in case the link goes dead one day.

a) 'sudo ln -sfr /usr/lib/sane/libsane-epkowa* /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/sane'
b) generate '/etc/udev/rules.d/79-udev-epson.rules'
content:
# chmod device EPSON group
ATTRS{manufacturer}=="EPSON", DRIVERS=="usb", SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="04b8", ATTRS{idProduct}=="*", MODE="0777"

I just upgraded to Linux Mint 19 Cinnamon. The Epson ES-200 scanner that I rely on heavily and that has served me faithfully under previous versions of Mint is not recognized by Tara (Mint 19). I have downloaded appropriate drivers from Epson. It appears the solution above does work; however, I don't understand it; can someone please put it in plain English?

I got step one, but don't understand step 2: what do you mean by "generate?" Entering the quoted text in Terminal (without the quotes) gives an error message. I am requesting clarification on subsequent instructions also, please.

Thank you for the support.

[pastic]

I had similar issues with my Epson GT-S85 scanner under Linux Mint 19. The link above solved the problem for me, too. I'm quoting the solution here in case the link goes dead one day.

a) 'sudo ln -sfr /usr/lib/sane/libsane-epkowa* /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/sane'
b) generate '/etc/udev/rules.d/79-udev-epson.rules'
content:
# chmod device EPSON group
ATTRS{manufacturer}=="EPSON", DRIVERS=="usb", SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="04b8", ATTRS{idProduct}=="*", MODE="0777"

I just upgraded to Linux Mint 19 Cinnamon. The Epson ES-200 scanner that I rely on heavily and that has served me faithfully under previous versions of Mint is not recognized by Tara (Mint 19). I have downloaded appropriate drivers from Epson. It appears the solution above does work; however, I don't understand it; can someone please put it in plain English?

I got step one, but don't understand step 2: what do you mean by "generate?" Entering the quoted text in Terminal (without the quotes) gives an error message. I am requesting clarification on subsequent instructions also, please.

Thank you for the support.

You will need to sudo touch /etc/udev/rules.d/79-udev-epson.rules and then sudo xed /etc/udev/rules.d/79-udev-epson.rules and enter the content into the file

[Crusader]

You will need to sudo touch /etc/udev/rules.d/79-udev-epson.rules and then sudo xed /etc/udev/rules.d/79-udev-epson.rules and enter the content into the file

Thank you for the simple, easy-to-understand explanation, pastic. Unfortunately, the process did not work for me. Below are steps I took.

• Followed the procedure you outlined above and saved the file

• Restarted the computer - Epson still not recognized

• Reinstalled Epson drivers

• Restarted the computer - Epson still not recognized

All suggestions are welcome.

[pastic]

You will need to sudo touch /etc/udev/rules.d/79-udev-epson.rules and then sudo xed /etc/udev/rules.d/79-udev-epson.rules and enter the content into the file

Thank you for the simple, easy-to-understand explanation, pastic. Unfortunately, the process did not work for me. Below are steps I took.

• Followed the procedure you outlined above and saved the file

• Restarted the computer - Epson still not recognized

• Reinstalled Epson drivers

• Restarted the computer - Epson still not recognized

All suggestions are welcome.

I share your frustration. Ever since moving to Mint 19 from 18.1 my Epson v370 was unrecognized. When running Epson's installation script, I had noted that in passing, without throwing an error, it says the the script chose libsane1 instead of libsane, and I always though that was fishy. And yesterday I remembered I could google it and eventually found this bug report which perfectly described my problem, and where eventually comment 98 would be my salvation. Mind you I am using VueScan and not Epson's iScan or SimpleScan. Perhaps if you want to download their trial you could see if that is a way of bringing your scanner back to life. VueScan, incidently, is a gold standard of scanners, much more powerful than iScan or Simple Scan. Perhaps you would prefer changing software rather than continuing to battle life back into other software. I am saying this, not because of any affiliation with VueScan, but because I suspect (from what I read in that thread, and my experience as well) that what you have done so far would make your scanner work under VueScan.

Perhaps not useful, but it is a step I did before the above, and that was not of help on its own, but may be in conjunction with the above:
what does sudo /usr/bin/sane-find-scanner say? Does it recognize your scanner? If yes you can take that info and put it explicitly in /etc/sane.d/epkowa.conf. There is a line in that file that you can uncomment like so, and substitute your own scanner model in hex (refer to output of sane-find-scanner).

Code: Select all

E.g. # SEIKO EPSON's USB vendor ID is '0x04b8' (without quotes).  In order
# to find the USB product ID, use lsusb(1).
# A sample configuration for the Epson Perfection 1650 (Epson GT-8200),
# which has a product ID of 0x0110, would look as follows:
#
usb 0x04b8 0x014a  # Here I have substituted my model 14a.

Other than this, I don't know what you could do, I'm afraid.

Just to make sure, your rules file does look like this, right?

Code: Select all

user:~$ cat /etc/udev/rules.d/79-udev-epson.rules
# chmod device EPSON group
ATTRS{manufacturer}=="EPSON", DRIVERS=="usb", SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="04b8", ATTRS{idProduct}=="*", MODE="0777"
user:~$ 

[Crusader]

Perhaps not useful, but it is a step I did before the above, and that was not of help on its own, but may be in conjunction with the above:
what does sudo /usr/bin/sane-find-scanner say? Does it recognize your scanner? If yes you can take that info and put it explicitly in /etc/sane.d/epkowa.conf. There is a line in that file that you can uncomment like so, and substitute your own scanner model in hex (refer to output of sane-find-scanner).

Code: Select all

E.g. # SEIKO EPSON's USB vendor ID is '0x04b8' (without quotes).  In order
# to find the USB product ID, use lsusb(1).
# A sample configuration for the Epson Perfection 1650 (Epson GT-8200),
# which has a product ID of 0x0110, would look as follows:
#
usb 0x04b8 0x014a  # Here I have substituted my model 14a.

Other than this, I don't know what you could do, I'm afraid.

Just to make sure, your rules file does look like this, right?

Code: Select all

user:~$ cat /etc/udev/rules.d/79-udev-epson.rules
# chmod device EPSON group
ATTRS{manufacturer}=="EPSON", DRIVERS=="usb", SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="04b8", ATTRS{idProduct}=="*", MODE="0777"
user:~$ 

Pastic, your support is greatly appreciated! I should have mentioned earlier, I use gscan2pdf, which "comes with" mint; I have been using it for a few years and am okay with it (not thrilled). I have no qualms about switching to another software. I downloaded VueScan but am having difficulty installing it: I will have to spend more time on it, but I am sure I can install it - and if it works, I am all for it.

In response to your suggestions:

Command: sudo /usr/bin/sane-find-scanner
Response:
# sane-find-scanner will now attempt to detect your scanner. If the
# result is different from what you expected, first make sure your
# scanner is powered up and properly connected to your computer.

# No SCSI scanners found. If you expected something different, make sure that
# you have loaded a kernel SCSI driver for your SCSI adapter.

could not fetch string descriptor: Pipe error
found USB scanner (vendor=0x04b8, product=0x0159 [ES-200]) at libusb:004:003
# Your USB scanner was (probably) detected. It may or may not be supported by
# SANE. Try scanimage -L and read the backend's manpage.

# Not checking for parallel port scanners.
-------
Command: sudo touch /etc/udev/rules.d/79-udev-epson.rules
Response: Nothing
-------
Command: sudo xed /etc/udev/rules.d/79-udev-epson.rules
Response: blank file.
-------
I copied the following to the blank file generated by the above command and saved the file.
# chmod device EPSON group
ATTRS{manufacturer}=="EPSON", DRIVERS=="usb", SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="04b8", ATTRS{idProduct}=="*", MODE="0777"

I also substituted the * in idProduct with ES-200 and ES200 to no avail. With each change, I saved the file and restarted my computer.

I am open to more suggestions - including the eventuality of downgrading back to Mint 18.2.

[Crusader]

Update: I just realized VueScan also "comes with" Mint. I will install it and update you on the outcome.

Mint 19's Software Manager repeatedly gives an error message when installing VueScan. I also realized it is commercial software - will explore other options for now.

Edited to provide an update on the results of VueScan installation.

[pastic]

Update: I just realized VueScan also "comes with" Mint. I will install it and update you on the outcome.

Wow, I did not know that! Nice surprise, courtesy of Flatpak integration, it seems. It is a slightly older version though.

Actually, when you download from the developer's site it does not need install. It's just an archived folder with some binaries. I unzip it to /opt/ as in /opt/Vuescan/ and then it is run from terminal with /opt/Vuescan/vuescan. Of course, then I add a menu icon, but that's a different story.

[Crusader]

Update: I just realized VueScan also "comes with" Mint. I will install it and update you on the outcome.

Wow, I did not know that! Nice surprise, courtesy of Flatpak integration, it seems. It is a slightly older version though.

Actually, when you download from the developer's site it does not need install. It's just an archived folder with some binaries. I unzip it to /opt/ as in /opt/Vuescan/ and then it is run from terminal with /opt/Vuescan/vuescan. Of course, then I add a menu icon, but that's a different story.

Per Mint's Software Manager, VueScan "will leave a watermark on your scanned images unless you purchase a license from Hamrick Software." Defeats the purpose of scanning documents unless VueScan is licen$ed.

I will continue to fiddle with gscan and see what happens; if nothing comes out that, I will downgrade to Mint 18.2.

Again, thank you for the support, pastic.

[Crusader]

Update: I "upgraded" from Mint 19 Cinnamon to Mint 18.3 Cinnamon and now have full use of the scanner (I use gscan2pdf)!

Logical question: what happens when support for Mint 18.3 Cinnamon runs out?
My answer: will cross the bridge when I come to it - until then, I plan on enjoying the ride!

All support (ideas, suggestions, thoughts, etc.) are appreciated.

[bhowmicksamrat]

Hi,
I have a similar problem with Epson v39. I followed all the steps, defined rules and created soft link as described. But the problem is not solved.
"sane-find-scanner" returns:
# sane-find-scanner will now attempt to detect your scanner. If the
# result is different from what you expected, first make sure your
# scanner is powered up and properly connected to your computer.

# No SCSI scanners found. If you expected something different, make sure that
# you have loaded a kernel SCSI driver for your SCSI adapter.

found USB scanner (vendor=0x04b8 [EPSON], product=0x013d [Epson Perfection V39]) at libusb:001:008
# Your USB scanner was (probably) detected. It may or may not be supported by
# SANE. Try scanimage -L and read the backend's manpage.

# Not checking for parallel port scanners.

# Most Scanners connected to the parallel port or other proprietary ports
# can't be detected by this program.


I also edited /etc/sane.d/epkowa.conf as suggested but no success.

"scanimage -L" returns
device `epkowa:usb:001:008' is a Epson (unknown model) flatbed scanner

However, the same device is working fine in mint 18. Please help me.

[bhowmicksamrat]

I solved the problem. It seems re-installing iscan bundle after all these steps solved it. I am sure I installed iscan bundle previously. Anyway, thanks for the procedure you mentioned.

[ParaDice]

Sorry for digging up old corpses, but this seems to be a popular thread among people trying to get their Epson scanners to work. So I'm back in 2020 with two updates:

Fix still works in Mint 20

I've recently installed Mint 20 (fresh install) x64 Cinnamon and was curious whether the scanner would still run, seeing that the drivers have last been updated in 08/2019, i.e. way before Ubuntu 20.4 / Mint 20 came out. I'm happy to report that they do. Here's what I'm running / did:
Scanner: Epson GT-S85
Driver: Epson All-in-one scanner driver v. 2.30.4 for Linux
Installation process: Install scanner driver. Run quick fix (see below). Reboot.

Quick-fix script

I've condensed the steps of the quick fix into a simple script that I run every time I need to reinstall a system/scanner. I'm attaching the code below, so anyone who needs to get their scanner fixed can run it quickly.

Code: Select all

sudo ln -sfr /usr/lib/sane/libsane-epkowa* /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/sane
printf '# chmod device EPSON group\nATTRS{manufacturer}=="EPSON", DRIVERS=="usb", SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ATTRS{idVendor}=="04b8", ATTRS{idProduct}=="*", MODE="0777"\n' | sudo tee /etc/udev/rules.d/79-udev-epson.rules

[bob12564]

Sorry for digging up old corpses, but this seems to be a popular thread among people trying to get their Epson scanners to work. So I'm back in 2020 with two updates:

ParaDice, you just resurrected an old corpse but did me a big favor. It solved my problem after I spent almost a day trying to fix it.

I remember this problem showing up when Mint 19 was released. That issue, with others, led me to drop back to Mint 18.3. But support for Mint 18 ends in April and I am now forced to upgrade. It's disappointing that this problem still exists. I've archived your code for future use.

I installed the same driver you used, which also seems to support the Perfection V300 Photo. I noticed that this version doesn't support saving to JPG or PNG. I recollect that a "libxxx" module was needed to restore that ability. Would you know what's missing?

Thanks again for posting the fix!